Machine for producing casting moulds

ABSTRACT

A machine for producing casting moulds comprises a multilink chain, each link being a flat plate which carries a moulding box. The chain is circulated to carry empty moulding boxes beneath a sand filling device followed by a compacting device and filled and patterned moulding boxes are eventually removed from the chain and stacked on a lifting platform.

nite States Grolla atent 1 June 27, 1972 [54] MACHINE FOR PRODUCING CASTING MOULDS [72] lnventor: Herbert Grolla, Laasphe, Germany [73] Assignee: Heinrich Wagner Maschinenfabrik,

Laasphe, Germany I22] Filed: July 9, 1970 [21] Appl. No; 53,347

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 11, 1969 Germany ..P 19 35 282.0

[52] U.S.Cl ..164/187,25/100, 164/210, 292/257 [51] Int. Cl. ..B22c 15/02, B22c 25/00 [58] Field of Search ..164/2l0, 386, 187; 25/100; 70/164, 166, 170; 292/257; 248/204, 316 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 854,932 5/1907 Dages l ..164/210 X Simpson ...164/2l0 X Sommer et al. ..292/257 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 385,252 11/1923 Germany 164/386 Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [5 7] ABSTRACT A machine for producing casting moulds comprises a multilink chain, each link being a flat plate which carries a moulding box. The chain is circulated to carry empty moulding boxes beneath a sand filling device followed by a compacting device and filled and patterned moulding boxes are eventually removed from the chain and stacked on a lifting platform.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED N I 2 Y 3. 872.434

SHEET 10F 3 INV EN TOR.

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SHEET 20F 3 MACHINE FOR PRODUCING CASTING MOULDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a machine for the production of casting moulds for pile casting, wherein empty moulding boxes are placed on a pattern plate and the boxes are filled with sand and removed from the pattern plates after compacting of the sand.

In pile casting, the casting operation is performed'at the same time on a large number of moulding boxes stacked on top of each other. The prerequisite for this method is that the castings have a flat base surface, e.g. piston rings, so that the smooth upper sand surface of one moulding box can form the lower face of the casting mould of the box above. Each moulding frame has a traversing channel from which a passage branches off to the actual mould. The traversing channels of all the moulding frames form a down channel common to all the moulds. The pile casting operation thus makes it possible to cast a large number of castings at the same time.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the known moulding machines for the production of casting moulds for pile casting, the empty moulding frames are placed manually on a pattern plate and the filled and rammed frames are removed manually. Attempts have been made to mechanize this operation, but it is impossible in doing so to secure an appreciable saving on labor or an increase in output.

It is a main object of the invention to provide a moulding machine with which it is possible to obtain substantially higher outputs than hitherto, and which eliminates manual placing in position and removal of the moulding frames.

SUMMARY According to the invention, the machine described above for the production of casting moulds for pile casting has a multilink chain driven by two star wheels. Each chain link forms a carrier for a moulding box. A sand feeding and compacting device is situated above the upper horizontal chain run, and two lifting platforms are arranged below the lower horizontal chain run and situated one behind the other in the direction of advance of the chain. The first platform removes filled moulding frames from a chain link and the second platform places empty moulding frames on a chain link.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a machine according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same machine,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of moulding boxes and pattern plates situated at the bottom of the machine, and

FIG. 4 shows a holding device for a moulding box.

The machine illustrated in the drawings has a machine frame made up of steel sections, essentially consisting of a frame 1, four corner posts 2 and two double-T beams 3 each fastened to two posts 2.

Two bearing pedestals 4 are situated on each beam 3, and each pair of co-axial bearinG pedestals 4 carries a shaft 5. A four-branch starwheel 6 is situated on each shaft 5. Both star wheels entrain an endless chain formed by plates 8 to 17, which constitute 10 chain links in the example illustrated. Every consecutive pair of links is hingedly interconnected by pins 18 which engage in recesses of the starwheels and which carry rollers 7 on their free ends. As shown for the chain link 8, a pattern plate 20 is fastened on each plate 8 to 17. The rollers 7 bear alternately on rails 19 and 21 which are fastened on brackets 22, which in turn are respectively fastened on the beams 3 and on posts 23 which are fixed on the beams 3.

A sand hopper 24 is mounted above the chain, on the post 23. This sand hopper has two sieves 25 and 26, with the hopper mouth 27 situated between these. A sand scraper is indicated at 28.

In a cylinder 30 there runs a thrust piston 31 whose piston rod 32 carries on its lower end a thrust plate 33. The cylinder 30 is fastened to the post 23 by means of struts 29.

Two lifting cylinders 34 and 35 whose pistons are indicated at 36, are mounted on the foundation of the machine frame. Each piston carries a plate 38, which plates serve for lifting carriages 39 and 40 which can be pushed on rails 37, over a plate 38. The carriage 40 carries filled moulding boxes 41; the carriage 39 carries empty moulding boxes.

As shown in FIG. 4, each moulding box consists of a flat-bar iron frame 43. Angle bars 44 are welded on at two opposite sides of the frame. A moulding box filled with sand 45 is shown in FIG. 4. Two double-armed levers 46 which are pivotally mounted in the plate 8 by means of pivots 47, hold fast the filled moulding box. The upper lever arm 48 of each lever is urged outwardly by a spring 49 which bears on an abutment 50 on the plate. The other lever arm 51 carries a round steel section 52 which is pressed against the underface of the angle bar 44 by the spring 49.

FIG. 4 also shows two cylinders 53 with pistons 54 and piston rods 55. As shown in FIG. 1, these cylinders are situated on the machine frame in the median plane of the cylinder 35.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

When the star wheels are driven, the chain consisting of the chain links 8 to 17 circulates, and each chain link, during this circulation, reaches the position of the link 8, in which the plate 8 bears an exposed and downwardly directed pattern plate 20. When the chain link 8 reaches the position of the chain link 9, the entrainment of the chain is interrupted, a pressurized fluid is fed to the cylinder 34, the carriage 39 is lifted so far by the piston rod 36 and by the plate 38, that an empty moulding box 42 is placed on the pattern plate 20. Upon placing the pattern plate in position, the angle bars 44 force the round steel sections 52 aside against the force of the springs 49. When the edges of the angle bars pass the round steel sections 52, the springs 49 press the round sections from below against the angle bars 44, so that the empty box is held fast on the pattern plate 20. After the empty box is placed in position, the entrainment of the chain is switched on again. When the chain link 8 reaches the illustrated position of the chain link 12, the moulding box is partially filled with finely sieved sand through the sieve 25, to obtain a smooth mould. During its displacement from the position of the chain link 12 to that of the chain link 13, the box 43 is filled completely with sand through the opening 27. The surplus sand is removed by the scraper 28 during the further displacement of the box to the position of the chain link 14. Fine sand is again sprinkled on the top layer of the sand filling by the sieve 25, so that the surface which is in fact a mould delimitation surface, also consists of fine sand.

The displacement is interrupted at the position of the chain link 14. The sand is compacted by means of the rammer 31. After the compacting action, the box travels to the position of the chain link 17. The entrainment is interrupted again at this point, the carriage 39 with the filled moulding boxes is displaced upwards. The levers 46 are pivoted anticlockwise by the pistons 54, i.e. the filled moulding box 41 is released and received by the underlying box on the carriage 39.

It is unnecessary for a pattern plate to be fastened on each chain link. It is possible to operate with a single pattern plate, if the latter is fastened on the underside of the thrust plate 33 i.e. suspended from the same. In this case, the pattern plate is pressed into a box filled with sand, the top sand layer as well as the subjacent layer consisting of finely sieved sand. The moulding boxes are then placed on and removed from the chain links themselves.

I claim 1. Machine for the manufacture of moulds for pile casting and comprising a multi-link chain driven by two star wheels, each chain link of which forms a carrier for receiving a moulding box, and with means arranged for the supply of sand and for compacting, disposed above the upper horizontal chain run, characterized by two lifting platforms, disposed below the lower horizontal chain run and lying one behind the other in the direction of movement of the chain, of which the first platform serves for the removal of filled moulding boxes from the chain links, the second one for placing empty moulding boxes on the chain links, means for lifting and lowering each platform by the height of a moulding box, means carried by each chain link and operable by the movement of the moulding box being lifted by the second lifting platform for holding the moulding boxes, and fixed means at the side of the path of the chain links for rendering said holding means inoperable to release the moulding boxes at said first platform.

2. A machine according to claim 1, in which carriages are provided for the empty and the filled moulding boxes, and which carriages run on rails extending over the lifting platforms 3. A machine according to claim 1, in which the sand feeding device includes a hopper having an opening at its lower end, with sieves provided at either side of the opening.

4. A machine according to claim 1, in which the sand compacting device includes a thrust plate and a pattern plate arranged on the underside of the thrust plate.

5. A machine according to claim 1, including a pattern plate associated with each chain link, each moulding box having angle bars secured on two opposite sides thereof, said holding means comprising a plurality of double-armed levers pivoted on each chain link which levers engage the anGle bars, and springs associated with said levers to urge the levers into engagement with the angle bars to hold fast a moulding box beneath said pattern plate.

6. A machine according to claim 5, in which said fixed means includes hydraulic cylinders mounted to engage the levers to operate the levers against the pressure of said springs to release the moulding boxes 

1. Machine for the manufacture of moulds for pile casting and comprising a multi-link chain driven by two star wheels, each chain link of which forms a carrier for receiving a moulding box, and with means arranged for the supply of sand and for compacting, disposed above the upper horizontal chain run, characterized by two lifting platforms, disposed below the lower horizontal chain run and lying one behind the other in the direction of movement of the chain, of which the first platform serves for the removal of filled moulding boxes from the chain links, the second one for placing empty moulding boxes on the chain links, means for lifting and lowering each platform by the height of a moulding box, means carried by each chain link and operable by the movement of the moulding box being lifted by the second lifting platform for holding the moulding boxes, and fixed means at the side of the path of the chain links for rendering said holding means inoperable to release the moulding boxes at said first platform.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, in which carriages are provided for the empty and the filled moulding boxes, and which carriages run on rails extending over the lifting platforms.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, in which the sand feeding device includes a hopper having an opening at its lower end, with sieves provided at either side of the opening.
 4. A machine according to claim 1, in which the sand compacting device includes a thrust plate and a pattern plate arranged on the underside of the thrust plate.
 5. A machine according to claim 1, including a pattern plate associated with each chain link, each moulding box having angle bars secured on two opposite sides thereof, said holding means comprising a plurality of double-armed levers pivoted on each chain link which levers engage the anGle bars, and springs associated with said levers to urge the levers into engagement with the angle bars to hold fast a moulding box beneath said pattern plate.
 6. A machine according to claim 5, in which said fixed means includes hydraulic cylinders mounted to engage the levers to operate the levers against the pressure of said springs to release the moulding boxes. 